Family Research Council Ad: Fear, Not Facts

July 29, 2009 12:56 pm ET —
Melinda Warner

One of the several emerging misleading
arguments against health insurance reform is that the reform legislation will
allow taxpayer dollars to fund abortion.
Now, the Family
Research Council has released an ad that implies that Planned Parenthood's
funding of reproductive services will somehow prevent another individual from
undergoing surgery.

This is a gross
distortion.

None of the current health insurance
reform bills directly address the issue of abortion. Currently, private insurance companies make
their own decisions on whether or not abortion is a covered procedure. Current reform efforts will continue in that
vein and allow consumers to choose a plan, through the Exchange, that is
provided by a company that is in line with their own moral decision about
abortion. According to Planned Parenthood: "Nothing
in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage -
or any other type of medical procedure - in the Exchange. Abortion is not
mandated any more than any other medical procedure in health care reform."

All this posturing around
abortion is just another way the opposition is distorting the move to reform
our health care delivery system in an effort to slow down or kill the
legislation. The issue of abortion has
always been, and probably always will be, a sensitive issue. Lawmakers and policy wonks are fully aware of
this and are seeking to find common ground between the pro-life and pro-choice
groups. The fact remains, however, that
millions of Americans are suffering under the current health care system.

Supporting life may mean
fighting voluntary abortions, but it should also mean supporting efforts to
make sure Americans live healthy lives by having access to basic health care.